Punishment still does not come close to fitting ‘crimes’ for Burfict
changed a bit, and the NFL, sadly, looks weak compared even to the NHL, which often lets beheadings go unpunished. The NHL waited about eight injurious head hits too long but finally suspended Tom Wilson — the Burfict of the hockey world — 20 games for his latest kill shot. That would be the equivalent of a four-game NFL suspension.
Wilson leveled former Penguins center Oskar Sundqvist with a ridiculous hit in an exhibition game. The league finally put its foot down, although even 20 games seems light when you’re dealing with a possible psychopath.
I would’ve kicked Wilson out of the league for the entire season. At least half. Former Cleveland Browns tackle Joe Thomas suggested just such a punishment for Burfict, after the vicious forearm to the back of Brown’s head, not to mention several other nearmisses or uncalled head shots.
“I think he should be suspended probably the rest of the season,” Thomas told ESPN Radio, “because nothing else has gotten through to him.”
Who could argue that? Other than Leeway Lewis, of course.
Go back and look at the play where James Conner steamrolled safety Shawn Williams and bounced Burfict like a tennis ball. Burfict went for the head-to-head hit on that play. He absolutely lowered his head into JuJu Smith-Schuster’s back early in the Steelers’ game-winning drive.
Ben Roethlisberger mentioned another play: His 3yard quarterback sneak early in the game (a play wiped out by a timeout). Burfict launched himself head-first like a torpedo, barely missing the ship that was Roethlisberger. It was frightening.
“I came home and my wife was like, ‘Man you got lucky on that quarterback sneak; he was coming for your head,’” Roethlisberger said on his radio show Tuesday on 93.7 The Fan. “I didn’t know anything about it until I went back, looked at the replay, and, boy, I sure did get lucky. I just happened to sneak under it.”
Burfict can’t seem to help himself. In that way, he is like another hockey player — former Penguins winger Matt Cooke, who seemingly had no control over his worst on-ice instincts until he was finally suspended for 17 games.
The difference here — besides a league taking substantive action — is that the Penguins condemned the hit. They were no longer going to be Cooke’s enablers. They wanted him to seek help outside of hockey.
“The suspension is warranted because that’s exactly the kind of hit we’re trying to get out of the game,” general manager Ray Shero said at the time. “Head shots have no place in hockey. We’ve told Matt in no uncertain terms that this kind of action on the ice is unacceptable and cannot happen.”
Contrast that to the garbage Leeway Lewis is trying to sell. What’s a fine going to do? This would be the 12th time the NFL has fined Burfict. He has been suspended twice for on-field violence. The message isn’t getting through.